Nearly three decades after Del Puerto Hospital shut its doors, Patterson still has no emergency room of its own, and paramedics routinely load patients into ambulances for rides to Turlock or Modesto that typically run 25 to 30 minutes each way. Residents of the Stanislaus County city have lacked a local hospital emergency department for decades, forcing paramedics to transport patients to emergency rooms in neighboring communities while the city waits for a new hospital to materialize.
The gap traces back to 1998, when Del Puerto Hospital closed for good, according to The Modesto Bee. Since then, Patterson residents have faced long travel times to reach acute care hospitals, specialty providers and behavioral health services, according to the Del Puerto Health Care District. The district’s own survey found that more than half of residents within its boundaries leave the West Side entirely just to see a doctor, per the Patterson Irrigator.
A Stopgap Bill Moves Through Sacramento
While the long-term fix remains years away, state lawmakers are pushing a shorter-term option. A bill authored by Assemblyman Juan Alanis, R-Modesto, would authorize a rural emergency stabilization care unit in Patterson, the Bee reported. The Assembly approved that bill, AB 2282, on a 76-0 vote in late May.
The proposed unit would provide emergency evaluation and care along with imaging and lab services, and it would receive patients daily, around the clock, until a permanent hospital opens, according to the same Bee report. In the meantime, Patterson District Ambulance provides 24-hour emergency care.
The Slow Build Toward a Permanent Hospital
Behind the emergency-unit push sits a much larger, slower-moving project: a phased healthcare campus. The Del Puerto Health Care District Board of Directors has reviewed a master plan intended for submission to the City of Patterson for approval, and the district expects to begin construction next year on a campus that would include a 25-bed critical-access hospital, per the Bee’s reporting…